Monster
by TheMusicManiac
Summary: "I'm the monster under your bed; I'm that coldness, that cruelty, that voice that tells you to kill and burn. I am the quiet rage of an empire, I am the unknown vengeance of a king. I am your opposite, your equal, separate from you and a part of you. I am the dark side, another shade of YOU, Arthur Kirkland!" Rated M for blood.


AN: Hey guys! So this oneshot was originally inspired by the song Monster by Imagine Dragons, but it took a bit of a different turn. That's alright though :) There is one paragraph that was intended to be much gorier, but I cut out a bit of the gore because I thought maybe people would appreciate it. It's still rated horror for blood though, just a warning.

Please let me know what you think, whether you hated it or loved it! If you really don't like it or something, please give a good reason why :)

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As a young nation, I was always striving to be like another, whomever it was I looked up to at the time. But no matter how I tried, it seemed I could never reach their greatness, those people I so admired. Then came the explorations and the colonies. I sailed with my men to hundreds of new and foreign cities, gathering wealth and knowledge while spreading my influence around the world. At points in time I felt cruel and cold, yet powerful even so. Surely then, I had achieved the greatness I sought.

But riches cannot last, and the colonies declared and gained independence one by one. Even after it all, I still chose to raise little America. I suppose I had learned nothing from the pain of the decline of those pirate days. When he left me to grow on his own, he left me to my lonesome and to my thoughts again. I felt that coldness, that cruelty inside ask to burn those lips that spoke the words, "I just want my freedom!" But the damage that would cause would be more than permanent, so I suppressed it. How long would the beast be contained, I wonder?

It was late into the night when I heard a voice shout my name.

"ARTHUR!"

Of course I bolted upright in bed, caught in a fright, and opened the door… to find nothing.

I breathed a relieved sigh. "Must have been part of a dream or something of the sort. Odd…"

With a hand over my mouth, I yawned. "Sleep is calling…" The covers seemed to welcome me into their embrace as I began to slip between them again.

"ARTHUR!"

That call.

The only natural action was to seek it out, but who knew what I would find. Ignoring that fact, I lit the golden candelabra and gripped it tight with both hands. The voice had started to whisper as I walked down the dark hallway of my mansion.

"Arthur… Come find me, don't ignore me, that's a good poppet…"

It was a mite creepy, and quite disturbing also. But anyhow, I felt drawn to it. I needed to know what it was. So with only a candle's feeble light to guide me, I ended up at the hallway with the huge mirror. I had gone down this hallway a thousand times myself, though I had never paid the mirror much mind. The thing fit right in with the décor. It was ginormous for a mirror, really, with an ornate gold frame and even a small plaque on the bottom rim. The bit of marble read:

'Look and see what you find

In the reflection of your mind.'

"Hm. Interesting." I mumbled, then regretted it because even that echoed in this empty hall.

"It's quite queer, isn't it? WHATEVER could it mean?"

That voice again. I whipped my head about, looking for its source.

"Oh, give it a rest, poppet, I'm right here! I always have been, you know."

Terrified, I turned toward the reflective glass.

Waiting for me was a man that looked akin to me in some ways, others not. His hair was cut the same way, but was an odd peach color; his eyes were bright as mine but were colored turquoise and pink. His clothes were just as neat, but he wore an off-white sweater vest over a cerise collared shirt and a turquoise bow tie. He reminded me of the Mad Hatter, somehow.

I nearly dropped the candelabra. "W-who are you?"

"Dear me, playing dumb are we?" The mirror-me pulled a face, smiling but looking down on me despite being the same height. The expression was dark and knowing.

I mustered my courage, correcting my sloppy posture to give myself a more poised look. "I'm not 'playing dumb', I'm asking a simple question. Who are you, and why is there such… uncanny resemblance between us? It's not every day you meet another man in the mirror besides yourself."

He frowned as a spoiled child would when refused a toy. "So you really don't know me? What a shame. To think that I woke you in hopes of a delightful reunion and this is what I receive! Oh, the horror!" The man struck a theatric pose, as if pretending to faint. Quite animated, this one.

When he noticed my glare never wavered and my question remained standing, he stared through his fingers with an ominous smile creeping across his lips.

"Why then… I supposed I should tell you." Pink Eyes spread his arms like he was asking for a hug. "I'm the monster under your bed; I'm that coldness, that cruelty, that voice that tells you to kill and burn. I am the quiet rage of an empire, I am the unknown vengeance of a king. I am your opposite, your equal, separate from you and a part of you. I am the dark side, another shade of YOU, Arthur Kirkland!" I stepped back as the mirror's surface dripped red, and the monster reached his hand out to me.

As he grabbed hold of my throat with his icy hand that dripped the same crimson red as the glass he reached from, he spoke, "But to make things easier, you can call me Oliver…"

I could do nothing to hinder his advance. I was helpless… Of course I would be at such a crucial time. If only I hadn't listened to that voice, if only I'd just stayed in bed…

The hand crawled down from my neck to my nightshirt-covered chest, staining the cloth with dabbles of the liquid that unfortunately resembled blood. That damned smile of his never wavering, even daring to extend, he thrust his fingers into my chest and went through it like water, gripping my beating heart. My scream seemed to please him and echoed in the hallway and back to my ears. I wondered if even a nation could survive this. Tears were shed in those moments of agony, salty drops mixed with blood.

"Yes, Arthur, become the monster…" Oliver cooed, sounding like a school teacher gently scolding a child.

I don't believe I can ever describe the feeling to its full extent. As Oliver was gripping my heart, I saw him come out of the mirror, as if I was dragging him out into the open. He then collided with me, but instead of bumping into my physical body he merged with it as a ghost would with a wall. I could feel his presence in my mind, invading everything with hatred and malice. He shoved me into a corner of the brain and whispered, "I am in control now… So stay put like a good poppet!"

When he raised his head, there wasn't much difference between Arthur and him. The same blonde hair and the same ungodly brows. But every once in a while, those emerald eyes would flicker and turn turquoise with a hint of pink. He smiled. It was time to wreak havoc upon the world, seeing as Arthur was too soft-hearted to do it himself.

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End notes: I was listening to the Magi battle music when I was typing this xD Makes me feel badass, you know?


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